Category: Research Highlight

Identification of Phase I & Phase II Metabolites of Maca Constituents

By: Da Sol Jung, Thankhoe A. Rants’o, Angela I. Calderón Maca (Lepidium meyenii Walpers) is a plant cultivated in central Peru, and its root is a common active ingredient in the botanical dietary supplements for its effects on a variety of health issues such as sexual dysfunction, anemia, and cancer. The plant contains compounds that…Continue Reading Identification of Phase I & Phase II Metabolites of Maca Constituents

Naturalistic Pen-Based Data Interaction

By: John Cook, Dr. Hari Narayanan and Dr. Jeff Overbey The proliferation of affordable multi-touch devices over the last five years has brought the power of data visualization and interaction to the averageconsumer. However, development and integration of pen-based input via new “smart stylus” tools has not resulted in data visualization applications that respond intelligently…Continue Reading Naturalistic Pen-Based Data Interaction

Functional Studies of Genes Transcriptionally Regulated by Calcium in Xylella fastidiosa

By: Courtney Kloske, Sy Traore, Prem Kandel, Leonardo De La Fuente Xylella fastidiosa (X. f.) is a bacterium that causes multiple lethal diseases in many economic crops including grapes, citrus, peach, plum, almond, coffee, pecan, and more recently olive. It was first described as Pierce’s disease in the grapevines of California vineyards. X. f. lives…Continue Reading Functional Studies of Genes Transcriptionally Regulated by Calcium in Xylella fastidiosa

Fresh market tomato yield and quality as affected by potassium rates and sources

By: Trevor L. Cofer, Elizabeth A. Guertal, James Pitts For many Alabama vegetable growers, fresh market tomatoes represent a significant source of income. Growers often apply high rates of potassium fertilizer at planting because it is thought to be needed to promote growthand uniform ripening. Two tomato growers I spoke with before my project expressed…Continue Reading Fresh market tomato yield and quality as affected by potassium rates and sources

Controlling the ion distribution in artificial muscles for more dynamic actuation response

By: Ethan Hofer, Bass, Patrick; Liu, Jiachen; Cai, Yancen; Cheng, Zhongyang Electroactive polymers (EAPs), also known as artificial muscles, are an exciting new branch of smart materials. Ionic EAPs, a subset of electroactive polymers, contain an electrically insulative polymer matrix as well as ions that can freely move through the polymer. When subjected to a…Continue Reading Controlling the ion distribution in artificial muscles for more dynamic actuation response

Comparison of a handheld glucometer and a clinical biochemical analyzer to measure glucose in porcine blood samples

By: Madison Gohlke, William Nunnelley, Dr. Terry Brandebourg My research question involved developing a sample handling method that allows human point-of-care glucometer (POCG) to accurately measure circulating blood glucose concentrations in porcine blood. Pigs are an apt biomedical research model for humans, specifically regarding the development of obesity and  etabolic disease. As in humans, the…Continue Reading Comparison of a handheld glucometer and a clinical biochemical analyzer to measure glucose in porcine blood samples

Main reservoirs of the bacteria Aeromonas hydrophila in commercial catfish raceways and ponds

By: Evelyn Willmon, Covadonga Arias, Francisca Burgos-Valverde, Candis Ray Aeromonas hydrophila is a gram-negative bacteria that causes motile Aeromonas septicemia (MAS) in many fish species. Typically, A. hydrophila is considered an opportunistic pathogen; however, an emergent strain which is especially deadly to commercially farmed catfish has become a major concern for the catfish industry since…Continue Reading Main reservoirs of the bacteria Aeromonas hydrophila in commercial catfish raceways and ponds

Computational study of electrostatically tunable band offsets in MoS2 multilayers

By: Martin Wang, Marcelo Kuroda The objective of my research project was to determine the viability of molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) in low-power electronic devices and flexible optoelectronics. The motivation for this research topic lies in its ramifications for a crucial and ubiquitous electronic component: the transistor. Traditionally, transistors have relied on the physical properties of their…Continue Reading Computational study of electrostatically tunable band offsets in MoS2 multilayers

Modelling Heat Transfer in the Presence of Acoustic Waves

By: William Chandler Moore, Joshua Batterson, and Joseph Majdalani The problem of acoustic waves evolving in combustion devices is well-known in the propulsion community. One repercussion of these acoustic instabilities is increased heat transfer to the combustion chamber. This is due in part to unsteady combustion, but more so because of unsteady convection. The latter can cause…Continue Reading Modelling Heat Transfer in the Presence of Acoustic Waves

Ultra High Field, High-Resolution Neuroimaging in Adolescents

By: Anna E. Kirkland, Jennifer L. Robinson There is a gap in the literature regarding ultra high-field (> 3 Tesla), high-resolution (< 2mm voxel resolution) functional neuroimaging in adolescents. Ultra high-field, high-resolution imaging can greatly improve sensitivity (through increases in signal-to-noise-ratio) and image quality, but it is not yet certain how traditional pre-processing steps may alter…Continue Reading Ultra High Field, High-Resolution Neuroimaging in Adolescents